There is a large unmet demand for higher education in many countries. For-profit institutions have an important role to play in meeting it and in advancing the reform of higher education.Following controversy in recent years, the United States for-profit sector has modified its practices, with education models now driving business models instead of the other way around.

Exporting a national model does not work as well as partnering with indigenous institutions to strengthen their operations. Public-private partnerships can also be very productive.

Governments are increasingly focused on outcomes as well as access to higher education, although defining longer-term outcomes is a challenge.

It is important to distinguish clearly between ownership, management and academic operations.

Governments need to learn more about for-profit provision. They expect providers to respond to country needs and observe national norms. It is reasonable for governments to apply the same standards of transparency and disclosure to all higher education institutions. The for-profit sector accepts reasonable regulation of its activities.

There must be a balanced dialogue between for-profit providers and governments that focuses on student outcomes and seeks to foster an indigenous private sector . There are now more resources for governments to draw on in doing this and the notion of partnerships is gaining increasing acceptance.

There is increasing acceptance of online education but, since distance learning is evolving rapidly, quality assurance arrangements should remain flexible.

If quality assurance is partly about risk, are for-profit institutions inherently more risky than public institutions?

International work in support of higher education is having a helpful impact on these issues, as evidenced, for example, by the use of the UNESCO/OECD Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education.
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